Non-controversial NDO

Support for nondiscrimination ordinance unites a broad spectrum of Houston.

Copyright 2014: Houston Chronicle

Updated 2:28 pm, Saturday, July 12, 2014

Photo: Cody Duty, Staff

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Protestors gather outside of City Hall after Mayor Annise Parker and supporters of her proposed nondiscrimination ordinance announced a compromise, Tuesday, May 13, 2014, in Houston. The proposed change in the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance would specify that no business open to the public could deny a transgender person entry to the restroom consistent with his or her gender identity. (Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle) less

Protestors gather outside of City Hall after Mayor Annise Parker and supporters of her proposed nondiscrimination ordinance announced a compromise, Tuesday, May 13, 2014, in Houston. The proposed change in the ... more

Photo: Cody Duty, Staff

Non-controversial NDO

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At a time when the Internet can bring the totality of human knowledge to your fingertips - not all of it fact-checked - websites like Snopes and Politifact have risen to a place of prominence for helping to separate rumor from reality. With all the hearsay and innuendo around Houston's new nondiscrimination ordinance, it almost feels like City Hall could use its own Snopes.

On its face, there is nothing controversial in the NDO. One could even claim that it is rather conservative, in the sense that this policy has been tested elsewhere time and again. The ordinance prohibits discrimination on the basis of categories already covered by federal law. It also extends protections to gay and transgender residents, following nondiscrimination laws that other cities and states have had on the books for years. Religious organizations and small businesses are exempted, and the maximum fine is $5,000.

But the rather staid nature of the nondiscrimination ordinance has not stopped opponents (mostly a few limited political and religious groups) from labeling it the "Sexual Predator Protection Act" and pursuing a ballot referendum to eliminate the new law.

The crux of this ad hominem invective is that opening the doors of civil society to transgender people - including restroom doors - will somehow also benefit criminals. This is an accusation based more in fear than fact.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. More than 160 cities and counties have passed their own individual laws, including Atlanta, Nashville and New Orleans. Dallas has had similar protections for a decade. Minnesota first prohibited discrimination against transgender folks in public accommodations more than 20 years ago. Even the Houston Independent School District added a transgender category to its nondiscrimination policy in 2011.

Houstonians have patiently studied these others' experiences, and the results are overwhelmingly positive. A city of sex criminals run amok only exists in the perverse fantasies of those prone to moral panics, desperately yearning for evidence that their fears were rightly founded. That evidence simply does not exist beyond the anecdotal urban legend.

Just in case not everyone has visited one of those states or cities that already have a nondiscrimination ordinance, let us lay it out in simple terms: Business owners are free as ever to boot weirdos and criminals to the curb, whether they're gay, straight or any other shade of humanity. They just need to have a reason that isn't discriminatory.

The fact is that Houston was one of the few major cities that lacked these local protections, and now we don't. Citizens can look to City Hall instead of the federal government to enforce equal rights. Support for this policy cuts across our community, uniting a broad spectrum of Houston including Log Cabin Republicans, the NAACP and business groups like the Greater Houston Partnership and the Houston Association of Realtors. It is a reminder that Houston is a city of business, and that in the 21st century nondiscrimination is a moneymaker. There is important symbolism in the fact that corporate boardrooms across the nation prohibit discrimination against the LGBT community, while Vladimir Putin spews homophobia from the Kremlin.

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But neither business acumen nor the tyranny of factual evidence has dissuaded a few organizations from pursuing a local referendum to eliminate the new nondiscrimination ordinance.

We question the wisdom of settling civil rights issues at the ballot box - a topic that will be addressed in a later editorial. In the meantime, we encourage the ordinance's opponents to open their ears - and their hearts. It was one thing when Houston lacked its own nondiscrimination ordinance. It will be something much crueler if today's protections are snatched away.